Reply With Quote
I think hiring a coach in Aggieland is a more difficult task than hiring in a lot of other places. Regardless of the name of the replacement, it seems that the most exacting requirement is that such a person "get" the Aggie thing. Aggies might not understand why some outside of their circle don't "get" the whole Aggie thing, but having experienced it first-hand on Friday, I can certainly see that there might be any number of fully reasonable people who might find a lot of the traditions and specifics of Texas A&M to be a bit, um, peculiar. I have no problem with those who embrace all of the things that it means to be an Aggie; my point is that I can understand why some might not "get" the whole deal.
At that, I think A&M's coaching search should focus on someone who not only gets the Aggie thing but also can entice players with the possibility of being groomed for success in the NFL. I don't know, frankly, whether Fran's offense was more pro-friendly and just became an option attack as personnel shuffled through or whether Fran intentionally recruited kids who would fit into a modified veer sort of offense. Regardless, it's clear to me that the offense that exists in College Station as of Friday is not one that will entice high schoolers who aspire to be drafted into the NFL. The most immediate way for the Aggies to improve their lot in the recruiting battle that they've badly lost to UT, OU, and LSU (and many national powers) of late is to give great athletes a reason to choose A&M. Fran didn't do that with his offense.
I don't see any argument for saying that A&M is much more than a pretty good regional program at this point -- they're very much like Texas Tech, though with far greater resources than are present in Lubbock. The only way that will change is to have a few stellar recruiting classes and to win some significant, non-rivalry games against ranked teams in or out of the conference. It will be a daunting task to make that happen, but the resources available at A&M make it possible.
